The Worst Betrayal
by acedott
Summary: The story of why Peter Pettigrew betrayed his friends to the Dark Lord. This story starts from when they were just kids at Hogwarts and goes until the very end.
1. Chapter 1

The Worst Betrayal Chapter 1

"_Accio Glasses!" _James said with a flick of his wand, summoning his glasses from the other side of the room. One of the ends hit him in the eye then fell onto the floor, shattering the lenses.

James sighed and picked them up. "_Reparo."_

"Not bad, Prongs. Maybe you should try summoning Evans next, see how that works out," Sirius said dryly. Remus and Peter both laughed out loud.

James turned slightly red but replied good-naturedly, "Why don't you give it a go then?"

"If my loyal audience wants a performance, then a performance you shall have," Sirius said, jumping up dramatically. Remus snorted sarcastically but leaned closer to watch just like the rest of them.

"_Accio Shoe!_" he exclaimed, flicking his wand with an elaborate flair. Instead of flying straight to Sirius's outstretched hand, however, it flew straight at Peter so fast that it felt like someone had just kicked him square in the face, knocking him over.

"Peter, are you alright?" James asked, looking at him with concern.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine," Peter said, rubbing his nose gently.

Remus made a strange strangled sound. Peter looked over at him and realized he was laughing.

"Sorry, Peter, but the look on your face was priceless!" Remus said, imitating Peter's face, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Sirius and James soon joined in the laughter.

"Very funny," Peter said grumpily, standing up. "I'm going to bed."

"Wormtail! Hey, Peter, wait a second!" Remus called after him. But Peter ignored him and stomped up the stairs to their dormitory.

Remus sighed in defeat. "I didn't mean to offend him."

"We know, Moony. And he'll realize it too, when he gets a chance to think about it. Just give him time, he'll come around," Sirius said comfortingly.

"I just forget how sensitive he is sometimes. It's not a bad thing, it's just… you know," Remus continued.

"We all forget sometimes. Maybe we should stop teasing him, or at least cut back," James suggested. They both nodded in agreement, still slightly concerned for their friend.

Peter felt terrible. His friends were horrible whisperers; he had heard every word they said. He knew he was sensitive, that wasn't why he felt guilty. They were so nice to him, even though he was much less talented than they were, and infinitely less cool. He didn't deserve such good friends.

_Someday, I'll be a great wizard. Then they won't have to take pity on me any more, and they'll respect me as much as I respect them. Someday, we'll be equals. _With that thought, Peter drifted off into a fitful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

The Worst Betrayal Chapter 2

Peter nervously followed Lucius into the dimly lit room. Several floorboards creaked under his weight, adding to his feeling of unease. He swallowed, calling on every ounce of courage he possessed.

"You must be Peter," a high, cold voice said. "Lucius told me you might be joining us."

Peter jumped, startled by the voice's sudden statement. "Y-yes, Lord Voldemort."

A wand suddenly appeared at his throat, and he could make out the wandbearer's snakelike features. "Such courage, to speak my name. A Gryffindor, I take it?" The wand's pressure increased on his throat, making him tremble.

"Yes, Lord. I-I meant no disrespect, my Lord. Please pardon my presumption," Peter said, trying desperately to keep a whimper out of his voice.

"I am not angry, Pettigrew. Merely... intrigued. But have no fear," the Dark Lord responded coldly, removing his wand from Peter's neck. "I punish only those who fail me. Will you fail me, Peter?"

"N-n-no, Lord. Never!"

"Then hold out your arm."

Confusion flooded Peter's face. "My Lord?"

"Your arm, Pettigrew. You are one of us now, you must be branded like the rest of us." Impatience was beginning to seep into the Dark Lord's voice.

Not daring to risk his wrath, Peter rolled up his sleeve and held out a shaking arm. The Dark Lord pressed his wand firmly into the exposed arm and whispered a spell. Peter's arm felt as though someone was trying to twist the skin off of it, or had cast the Cruciatus curse on just his arm. He screamed in anguish and collapsed to the ground.

The pain stopped as suddenly as it has begun. He lay panting on the ground , surprised to find water on his cheeks. Deciding that crying would be seen as weakness, he roughly brushed them away with the sleeve of his robe.

He made no move to get up until a palehand with slightly overlong fingernails was extended to him. He took it reluctantly and stood up, still shaking slightly.

"Welcome, Peter," the Dark Lord said. "You will share in our glory when we emerge victorious!" All the Death Eaters gathered there-Augustus Rookwood, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange and some others he didn't recognize**\- **began to cheer and clap wildly.

Peter shook off his doubts and reminded himself, _The others will respect me once this is all over. __Everyone__ will respect me when this is all over. I will never be that talentless, helpless child I used to be. This is the way it has to be. _He joined in the celebration of the other Death Eaters, irreversibly one of them now.


	3. Chapter 3

Peter opened the door to the Potters' home at the exact moment baby Harry came hurtling out the door on his little toy broom, laughing delightedly, with his mother chasing after him looking very frazzled.

"Not again," Lily sighed, joining Peter in the street. "_Accio Harry Potter._" He came zooming into her arms, looking even more thrilled.

"Uh-pee! Uh-pee!" Harry cried, waving his chubby little arms enthusiastically at Peter. He waved back with equal enthusiasm.

"Yes, that's Uncle Peter! How are you, Wormtail?" Lily said fondly.

"Oh, same as always. How are you?" he replied, hugging her with one arm so he didn't crush Harry.

"We're all doing fine. I think James is going a little stir-crazy, honestly, so your visit should cheer him up a lot," Lily said, leading him inside the house.

"I swear I only turned my back for a second, but he- Peter!" James hugged him happily. "Two visitors in one week, I must be popular!" Lily smacked the back of his head as she went by. "Ow!"

"Who visited before me?" Peter asked curiously.

"Our good friend Mr. Moony. We had to empty our kitchen just to make dinner for him. You know Remus, always hungry like the wolf." Lily smacked James again.

"What was that for?" James asked indignantly.

"That joke wasn't funny the first time, and you know it," she replied, grinning.

"Remus was here? I guess you made him Secret-Keeper, then?" Peter asked with relief. _Thank goodness they picked Remus. He would __never__ tell anyone the location. _

"What? Oh no, he just stopped by to see us. We asked him to be the godfather to the newest Potter," Lily said fondly, gently rubbing her stomach. "But you know how he is. 'I'm too dangerous, blah blah blah.' Merlin's beard, he's stubborn."

"I'm glad you brought up Secret-Keepers, though, Wormtail," James said, ruffling his hair nervously. "We talked about it a lot- I mean, this isn't a decision you make lightly, obviously- and we want you to be our Secret-Keeper."

Peter paled. "B-but w-why m-m-me?" _I've been able to protect them from the Dark Lord because I'm not the Secret-Keeper. Now I'll have to tell him! He'll see through me in an instant, even without Legilimency. _

"Because you're one of our dearest friends!" Lily exclaimed. "You don't have to accept if you don't want to, of course, but we both believe in you and trust you. I know you haven't always had the highest self-esteem, but you really are a trustworthy friend, Peter."

He gulped. "I…er…o-okay. I'll do it." With praise like that, he felt too guilty to say no, even though refusing would be for their protection.

James hugged him. "Thank you, Peter. We really appreciate it."

Harry hugged Peter's legs, the only part of him he could reach. "Tank-oo Uh-pee!"

He knew Harry didn't really understand what was going on; he was only a year old after all. But that didn't stop a knot of guilt from settling in his stomach.

_He doesn't tolerate liars, and I'm not strong enough to stand up to him, _Peter thought.

He gently disentangled himself from the Potters' embrace. "Well, I'd better get going."

"So soon?" Lily asked, clearly disappointed.

"Yes, well… I-er… Feeling a bit under the weather, wouldn't want to get the rest of you sick, especially not with another little one on the way." He could feel the knot expand as he excused himself.

He stepped out into the street and murmured, "_Accio toy broom." _The broom shot into his hands and he handed it to James. "You forgot this, Prongs."

He took it gratefully, grinning. "What would we do without you, Peter?"

_Stay alive, maybe? _"Oh, just be miserably lonely, I suppose," he joked weakly. Then he Apparated away without a goodbye, unable to face them for a second longer.

"You have news for me, Pettigrew?" the Dark Lord asked, already knowing the answer.

"Y-yes, Master," Peter stuttered. "T-the P-P-Potters have made me their Secret-Keeper." His face flushed with shame at his betrayal of them.

Voldemort made no attempt to hide his surprise at this news. "Really? You told me they were going to choose the werewolf or the blood traitor."

Peter's blood boiled to hear his friends talked about with such disdain. "They're better wizards than me; choosing them would have been more logical! They probably wanted to pick the less obvious choice."

He laughed his high, cold laugh. "You have no need to defend yourself, Peter," he said, mistaking Peter's lingering loyalty to his friends as defensiveness. "I much prefer this result. Now then, Wormtail, where are they hiding?"

The Dark Lord's use of the Marauders' nickname for Peter felt like a knife being ripped through his heart. He attempted to keep his silence, but lasted for only a few seconds. "G-Godric's Hollow, my lord."

"Thank you, Wormtail. Your loyalty will be rewarded," he said coldly.

Peter gathered up his courage and blurted out, "My lord? M-may I request a favor?"

Voldemort flared his snakelike nostrils in surprise, and possibly anger. "You would request a favor of _me?"_

Peter gulped and continued, "Is-is it absolutely necessary to kill the Potters? I understand you must kill the boy, but I beg you: spare Lily and James."

"Two of my servants beg for Lily's life, how interesting."

_Two? _Peter wondered. _Who else would want her alive? _

"I have already promised to spare her life unless she stands in my way. James, however, has proven to be an active part of the Order. If he does not resist me, there is no need for him to die."

Peter bowed, knowing that was the best he was going to get from him. "Thank you, my lord."

He left the Dark Lord's presence, hoping and praying that Lily and James would not stand in his way, but knowing that they probably would. _They're true Gryffindors_, he thought bitterly. _I chose the wrong house; I'm nothing like them. _


	4. Chapter 4

They were gone.

Looking at the remains of the Potters' home, Peter knew that they had put up a fight, and had been killed. And it was all his fault.

_I didn't perform the curse_, his guilty mind protested weakly. _I didn't __really __kill them_.

His conscience (which sounded suspiciously like Remus) disagreed. _You handed them over to him. It amounts to the same thing. _

He wandered numbly through the wreckage. He knelt down and shut James's eyes, unable to bear the sight of him staring lifelessly at Peter. He continued upstairs, up to Harry's room. But where a little nursery had been only a few days ago, now there was just destruction. He saw Lily's body lying on the floor, and shut her eyes as well.

He picked up Voldemort's wand and put it in his pocket, unaware of even doing so. Later he would discover it in his pocket, bitterly noting that cowardly self-preservation had become instinctive for him now.

Feeling overwhelmed by the death and destruction he had caused he Apparated, not caring where he went. He ended up on a mostly deserted Muggle street (he had never bothered to learn their names), completely intact except for the index finger on his right hand, which had been splinched due to his lack of focus. He sat down in the street, muttering, "They're gone. All gone, all my fault. He probably has Harry now. All my fault. They're gone." He was dimly aware that some of the Muggles were looking at him strangely, but he didn't care. How could he worry about what a few people thought of him when they were gone?

"Peter! Peter! You treacherous little Squib!" a voice called out, fury and grief making his voice shake. "How could you Peter? You betrayed them!"

_Naturally, Sirius found me, _Peter thought. _He must have gone to my hiding place, seen that I wasn't there, and figured it out. But why? Now I have to betray him too._

"No, you betrayed them! You gave them over to the Dark Lord, Sirius! They were your friends, how could you?" Peter's guilt and fear caused him to accidentally use magic: several of the surrounding buildings exploded, possibly killing the Muggles on the street; he'd never know for sure. Taking advantage of the chaos, he morphed into a rat and scurried into the sewers. The sound of his old friend laughing maniacally followed him, and caused another pang of guilt; he knew he'd pushed Sirius to brink of insanity, and quite possibly over it.

Peter felt tremendous guilt, but as always, his fear was stronger than his guilt. Only now, his fear was of seeing Lily and James in the afterlife. They would surely shun him and hate him. _And they should_, Peter thought sadly. _After all, a rat is all I am. All I'll ever be. _


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: This is the last chapter, so please review and tell me what you thought of the story!**

"You're going to kill me?" Harry choked, attempting to prise off the metal fingers. "After I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!"

He sounded just like James in that moment. Without even realizing it, Peter allowed his grip on Harry's neck to loosen. Harry jerked out of his grip, still keeping his hand firmly clamped on Peter's mouth. His ginger friend- Ronald? Reginald? One of the Weasleys, anyway- pulled Peter's wand out of his hand.

His main concern, however, was with the other hand. It had begun to rise up to Peter's own throat, and kept rising no matter how hard he struggled. Harry and the Weasley boy tried to keep the hand from reaching his throat, but it was no use. Spots began to appear in his vision as he gasped desperately for air. He dimly registered that Weasley had attempted to use some spell as his lungs gave up.

Everything went black. And then, everything was white.

He was lying facedown in a world that seemed completely made up of white: white floor, white ceiling, white walls. The room he was in was larger than any room he had ever seen before. He knew he must be dead, and that thought made him shut his eyes tightly, as if he could return to the land of the living if he only closed his eyes tight enough.

He did not know how long he had been lying there when he heard a voice say, "Is he ever going to open his eyes?"

"Shut up, Padfoot. He'll open his eyes when he's ready."

"He should be ready by now! Moony and his wife _died _and joined us while Wormtail just lay there. _Severus bloody Snape _died before he opened his eyes!"

Remus was dead? And married? The shock of it made him open his eyes and sit up.

"Peter! It's about time, mate!" James said.

Peter stayed sitting, but hung his head in shame. "I-I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "I never should've betrayed you to him."

"See! I told you he let Harry live because he was really sorry!" James said triumphantly to the other two.

"W-what?" Peter was completely confused. "I-I don't understand. How-how could you know that I-"

"Oh, right," James said. "Well, the dead can see lots of stuff that's happening with the living. Not all people, but y'know…some."

Remus rolled his eyes fondly at James's weak explanation. "We can only see the lives of people we knew well in life. So we can see you and some of our friends from Hogwarts or the Order. Well, the ones who are still alive, anyway. So we saw you spare Harry's life, and Prongs thought it was because Harry reminded you of him and that you felt guilty about turning them over to Voldemort. He's not here, Wormtail, he can't hurt us," he said, seeing Peter flinch at the Dark Lord's name.

"He's right. And I know it sounds like I'm only saying that so you'll forgive me, but I swear it's true. And I know I don't deserve your forgiveness." Peter kept his head bowed and keeping his eyes closed so he wouldn't cry.

There was silence for a moment, then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up through tears and saw James smiling at him, as if nothing had happened. "You were brave in the end, Wormtail. That's all that matters."

Remus and Sirius reached out their hands to Peter and helped him up. "Welcome back, Wormtail."

He smiled, eyes swimming with tears. He had never, not even in his wildest dreams, dared to hope that they would ever forgive him.

Knowing he would start crying if he expressed this, he instead asked, "So, Moony got married?"

"Believe me, we were as surprised as you were," Sirius deadpanned.

Remus nudged him, laughing. "Am I that awful?"

"No, but you're so bloody…what's the word…"

"Obnoxiously and ridiculously self-sacrificial?" Peter supplied. They all laughed in agreement.

"I hate you all," Remus said, grinning. "But my furry little problem didn't come with me when I died, so I'll be extremely selfish from here on out."

Sirius scoffed. "The day you're selfish is the day Prongs gets over Lily Evans."

"That's Lily Evans _Potter _now, thank you," James retorted with a highly self-satisfied smirk.

"Remember how pathetically in love with her he was when we were in school?" Sirius said, turning to Peter. He nodded, rolling his eyes. "Imagine that, but about 100 times worse. It's enough to make you want to die again. But at least I have you and Moony now."

"Won't Moony be busy being pathetically in love with his new wife?" Peter asked jokingly.

"Yes, I will," Remus said proudly, looking happier than he had ever been in life.

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs linked arms and headed onwards: The four Marauders, reunited in death.

THE END

**Disclaimer: The first two lines (is it long enough to call it a paragraph?) were taken directly from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and were written by J. K. Rowling, not me. **


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